Wise once again
by Djuro
Summary: Sequel to Wiseguys. 16 years after they escaped from LA, Beck and Andre return to the city where everything started. The older, smarter and wiser duo find a reason to retake the world, again. But how will Jade, Tori and Cat react to that decission? And what old ghosts are going to haunt them there? Rated M for content, violence and language.
1. 16 years later

**Sequel to "Wiseguys". If you haven't read the original, read it before reading this story. Give it a shot. People say it's good. **

Andre walked towards the large house on the coast. The tides were coming in the afternoon while the sun was about to settle down for the day. The years had done him well. The former enforcer had not lost in size. He worked out more than even back in the day, having way more time to do so now compared to the hectic and sometimes unpredictable time schedule back in LA. His hair was longer, but the dreads never disappeared. It was something he refused to get rid off.

He stepped into the house, not even bothering to knock. He knew that Beck was home, and he knew that he was always welcome. It had been like that since they got away from LA and the Trapani family had fallen to pieces.

He walked upstairs into the room that served for business. Beck was there every afternoon, counting the expenses and searching for ways to reduce them in his household. Andre opened the door and walked into the room, where Beck was sitting behind a desk, looking through bills and writing numbers down on a separate piece of paper while the cooling breeze came into the room through the open window.

"Any chance you'll find a check in one of those letters?" Andre asked as he closed the door.

"I'm keeping my hopes up every month, and I always get my heart broken." Beck answered as he threw the stack of bills onto one of the drawers with some money to pay for them.

"How much do you have left?" Andre asked as he took one of the wooden chairs and turned it around, sitting down and leaning on the back of the chair with his arms.

"Around a hundred grand. It should last for another year. Maybe eighteen months if I'm careful. You?" Beck asked, looking at his friend.

"Hundred and twenty. But you got one mouth more to feed than me, so we are probably doing the same thing." Andre said. Beck let out a sigh, time catching up on them and their financial reserves.

_When we came here, I didn't want to think about the money. We had plenty of it and could do whatever we wanted. Both Andre and I bought a house and decided to enjoy the cash we had made through all those years. But after all those years, I guess I could say it lasted long enough. Inflation, financial crisis and all that crap did their job, too. The prices for everything fucking tripled after a while. I remember when the american dollar still had some strength and worth. But now? Now it seems like a fucking joke to me. _

"We gotta do something. I'm not planning to sit here and wait until I have nothing left. I got a wife and two small kids to take care off. And what am I supposed to do when they grow up and want to go to college or somewhere like that? Sell my fucking kidneys?" Beck said. The former made man looked as good as ever, his hair having grown way longer while his facial structure was way more mature and masculine and the soul patch gave it the final touch. He also kept in shape himself, but focused more on jogging than on building muscle as his best friend did.

"I'm sure Cat could borrow us some money. Adam left her quite a lot and she's been careful herself." Adam suggested.

"I know she has a lot left and I know she would give all of it to us in a heartbeat if we asked her. But I can't take money from her. I mean…" Beck said with a sigh, not finishing his thought. Andre understood. It was an option he would only consider if things got really bad.

"Then how about this? We go to the city and see if there is anything worth investing in? A nightclub or some shit like that, while we still have enough to do so." Andre suggested.

"You think we should?"

"I'll rather have some okay income every month than watch the pile of cash in my mattress become smaller. Keeps the blood pressure down." Andre said with a smile.

"You got a point there. Let's do that first thing tomorrow morning." Beck said.

"Alright. You and Jade coming over tonight? Tori is making dinner, and Cat said Lilly and her would be there." Andre asked.

"Sure. We'll come over around eight. I'll bring the wine."

"Good. See you then." Andre said as he got up and walked out of the room and the house.

_If you are wondering, my family is doing fine. Andre and I proposed to our girls at the same time and had our weddings two weeks apart. He did it first, and I decided to wait and give him the honor. It wasn't anything special by any means. It was always the same group of people. The five of us and little Lilly, who was still a baby then and cried most of the time while the priest said whatever he did, were the only people to celebrate it. And as far as I'm concerned, I didn't need anyone else._

Beck walked downstairs where his two daughters were playing with their dolls while Jade was watching something on TV and ironing the now clean clothes. Beck saw that his girls saw him, so he motioned them to stay quiet as he slowly and silently snuck up to Jade and hugged her around the waist, kissing her on the cheek and neck before resting his head on her shoulder.

"Hey, careful, I don't want to burn you with the iron." She said with a chuckle as she put aside the iron and leaned back in his hug. Jade was still good old Jade: dark clothes, dark hair, a great body and the same emerald green eyes that Beck could not get enough from. The fact that she was wearing a short or a swimming suit dress most of the time only made Beck happier.

"Andre and Tori are inviting us to dinner. Cat and Lilly will be there too." Beck said. Jade turned around in his arms and wrapped her hands around his neck as she pulled him towards her and kissed him, almost knocking down the board behind her.

"When?"

"Eight o'clock. Let's not be late again." Beck begged.

"They are late too all the time. Why can't we be?" Jade asked.

"Because we are the more polite couple." Beck said.

"Yeah, we fucking are." Jade whispered to him with a smirk as she turned around and took the clothes off the board and carried it towards the table. She decided she would put them where they belong later. She then walked where the girls where playing.

"Hey, want to go visit uncle Andre, aunt Tori and play with Kyle?" Jade asked them as she crouched down next to them.

"Mhm." The five and four year old mumbled, way too focused on their puppet house.

A few hours passed and Beck, Jade and their two kids made their way towards Andre's place. They arrived there a few minutes later, living close to each other. Beck opened the door and the kids immediately ran inside towards Kyle's room.

"Watch for the steps." Tori called as she walked towards the door to greet the guests. "I heard your kids the moment you walked out of the house." She said with a smile as she hugged her cousin. The half Latina was still as tanned as always and looked as good as ever. "I've made your favorite meal, just so you know."

"You really are an angel, you know that?" Jade said as she hugged her back.

"Yeah, I've been told that often." Tori said with a smirk as she pulled away and looked at Beck. "And you can go and help Andre get the drinks."

"Why does he need help with that?" Beck wondered.

"Because the fucking ice box outside is stuck and I can't open it." Andre said as he walked inside. "Honey, I need a knife." Andre said as he stopped next to Tori.

"What for?" She wondered.

"You want to open it with a knife?" Beck asked.

"Well, if it won't open I'll stab it with it." Andre said as he walked into the kitchen and took out the biggest knife out of the knife holder. "That's what I'm talking about." He said with a smirk before he walked back outside.

"I'll go with him before he hurts himself." Beck said with a smile as he walked outside, leaving the girls by themselves.

"Is Cat here yet?" Jade asked as she and Tori walked into the living room.

"She should be here soon. I only hope she isn't arguing with Lilly again." Tori said as she sat down on the couch.

"Well, she is 17. We weren't much better that age." Jade said.

"True. She doesn't have it easy herself. No father and no idea what happened. And Cat doesn't want to talk about it." Tori said. "We've been over this. It's easier for her. And the less Lilly knows the better." Jade said.

That moment the door opened and both girls got up. Cat walked inside, wearing a colored dress and keeping her hair red, but only on shoulder length. It made her look younger, but her eyes revealed a lot of life experience and a lot of pain.

"Hi." She said, drawing the "i" out as always.

"Hey Cat. Where's Lilly?" Tori asked as she hugged her friend.

"We had an argument again. She is at home." Cat said.

"It will be alright, Cat. She's still a kid." Jade said as she put her hand on Cat's shoulder before being hugged by the smaller woman.

"I know. I know…"

The slide door opened and Andre and Beck walked into the house, each carrying a couple of bottles.

"Hey there. We got the ice box open." Beck said.

"And how?" Jade asked with a small smirk, keeping her arm around Cat's shoulder.

"Doesn't matter. But I need to buy another one tomorrow." Andre said.

"And a new knife." Beck added.

"And a new knife, yeah..:" Andre repeated while Tori shook her head and smiled.

"Let's just eat." She said.

Dinner went well. The kids were playing upstairs while the adults had dinner downstairs in the dinning room. They talked and joked as usually, having fun and enjoying each others company.

"We are going to the city tomorrow." Beck said.

"Why?" Jade asked as she looked at him.

"Andre and I want to go see if there is anything we can invest our money in. We are slowly but surely running out." Beck explained.

"Oh god, how much do we have left?" Tori asked, looking at Andre with a worried expression.

"Don't panic. We have enough for at least another year, maybe longer, but instead of watching our money disappear slowly Beck and I want to have some income. A few grand every month and we would be set." Andre explained.

"If you need money, I could give you some. I still have most Ad…" Cat said after having been silent the whole night. She stopped before she said Adam's name, however. The memories of him only hurt her more with time. Nobody spoke of him in front of her because of that. It would only make her cry again.

"It's okay. We'll take care of it. Thank you for offering it, Cat." Beck said.

"I though we should go and check out some of those night clubs. I'm sure they make some nice money out there." Andre said, changing the subject.

"I bet they do. When I take the kids to school, there are still people out there. They all must party until the morning. I bet they also leave a lot of money in there." Tori said.

"Well, if they do, I want it. So tomorrow, Beck and I will take the kids to school and look around the town to see if there is something good there." Andre said.

"It's a deal. Tomorrow, we take care of finances." Beck said as he raised his glass.

_It was a nice plan. Go to town; see what clubs are there and then make money from one of them. It was supposed to bring in some money and also give me and Andre something to do. But who could have predicted what would happen the next day? Nobody. And if someone had, I wouldn't have believed him anyway. _


	2. So you are

_The day started out as planned. I got up at six AM and began my usual half hour sprinting session down the beach before taking a cool down five minute swim in the ocean. My kids and I headed towards Andre's house, where he and Kyle were already waiting for us and together we made our way towards the boat we got together as a measure of transportation. Five minutes later, we arrived at the small docks of the town. Andre gave twenty bucks to one of the dock workers to watch our boat and we took the kids to school. Once we dropped them there, we made our way to search for a nice location._

Beck and Andre were walking through the town, looking around in hope of finding something. A "For Sale" sign, a place that looked okay enough to be available but still bad enough to need investment, anything.

"You know what worries me?" Andre asked.

"What?"

"We invest in one, patch the place up and everything, we still need to find a way to get people in there. Something special that isn't available in any other place close." Andre said.

"You are right. And I've been thinking about it. I thought about…doing some events." Beck said.

"Events?"

"Yeah, like every few days something special. Dancers, certain drinks at half prices for one night and so on." Beck explained.

"You don't think anyone else is doing it?" Andre asked.

"I'm sure nobody is. Look at those places. Overprice shit to make up for the crack heads that walk in and don't even order anything, but need a place to hang out in until the morning. I thought we make our place for the right people. We offer quality booze, nice asses shaking on poles and maybe something to eat too for our guests. Drinking makes you hungry." Beck explained.

"You are right. Maybe throw in some live music from time to time."

"Sure. That too."

"Hey, how about that rat hole over there?" Andre asked, pointing at a building.

"Oh, this is perfect." Beck said as he patted Andre on the back.

_It was a great place in every way. Three floors, a bar and dance floor on the first two floors. The third one was completely cleared. The second floor had a separated place, probably a VIP place I had ideas for. It was a perfect place. But of course, not me, not Andre, none of us or our family could have anything nice without some fucking issues and problems swinging along the way for us. _

"I…have some problems…with one of the guys…" The owner, Carlo, said.

"What problems?" Andre asked, Beck him and Carlo sitting at the bar.

"I borrowed some money from this guy, Richie Purtaro. He is one of those… big shots in town, if you understand." Carlo said.

"A mob guy?" Beck asked.

"Well, sort off. He has some money and acts as a big shot. Hires some street thugs to make trouble as soon as somebody doesn't pay back. I'm scared that he won't try something stupid." Carlo explained.

"How much do you own him?" Andre asked.

"Forty thousand." Carlo answered honestly.

"Well, Carlo, then it's your lucky day. I'm willing to pay off your debt with Richie, but in return, I want eighty percent ownership of this place." Beck said.

"E-e-eighty p-percent?" Carlo stuttered.

"You get to run this place in terms of keeping an eye on everything for us, but Beck and I will take care of finances and other issues you seemed to be overwhelmed with. We have some plans for this place, use the third floor for something special, new furniture and a few other things, while you kick back and enjoy a nice payday." Andre said.

"Also, you know the people here and what they want. Me friend and I are willing to put some money in this place so it makes us even more money. And I'm sure you know how to do it. So you let us know what he have to do, and watch us do it." Beck said.

"Alright. I'm sure you can turn this shit hole around." Carlo said as he offered his hand. They shook hands with him, the business sealed.

"Now, where the fuck is that Richie guy?" Beck asked.

_As soon as we found out, we were on our way there with the money. Carlo was right. Richie Purtaro was not a wiseguy. He was too dumb to be one anyway. He was nothing but some rich prick who got all his money left to him by his parents after their passing and now decided to act as a big shot. _

"Richie, listen…" Beck began.

"It's Mister Purtaro to you." Richie said, cutting him off.

"Alright, Mister Purtaro. I'm here to take care of that Carlo deal you have. I'll pay off his debt."

"Oh really? Well, it's not that easy." Richie said.

"Why not?" Andre asked. Glancing behind him for a moment. Two guys were standing behind them by the door, probably his muscle.

"Well, Carlo and I have a history. And I didn't like when he stole one of my ladies." Richie said.

"That's between the two of you. I'm here to talk business. I have forty grand here for you. Cash. Take it, and take the pressure off of his club. We are taking it over." Beck said.

"Oh no, you are not. That club is his baby, and nothing hurts that cocksucker more than watch it rot away. It's not about the money for me. I want to see him suffer before I have someone collect his head." Richie said with a smirk as he leaned back in his chair.

"Let me tell you something, Richie. I don't give a flying fuck about the history you and Carlo have, I don't give a fuck about your personal vendetta, and I don't give a single piece of fuck about what you want. Take the money, and fuck off, before I get impatient." Beck said, staring right at Richie who went from feeling high and powerful to nervous. There was something about Beck, about the way he talked, that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"You got some balls to come to my place and talk to me like that. Do you know who I am?" I am…" Richie began, but Beck decided to pay him back for his previous interrupt.

"You are nothing but a rich nobody who had his money stuffed up his ass by his parents and now acts as if he is somebody. You are nothing, Richie. You are nothing but a waste of air. And you are making me waste even more by having to sit here as long as I did. You've accomplished nothing in life, and now you want to take it out at Carlo? Maybe that's why the girls leave you, Richie. Because you can't even get one up before someone massages your ego. And I'm sure that even when you get it up, it's just like you. A small, disappointing, useless piece of waste." Beck said.

"You dumb son of a… get them out of here!" Richie yelled,but Andre was ready.

As one of the two men wanted to grab Andre, Andre grabbed his arm, twisted it behind the guys back and drove him head first into the wall, making him crash right down. The other guy pulled a knife and tried to stab Andre, but he dodged the attack, grabbed the guys hands before he kneeled him in the crotch twice, making him drop his knife and then punched him in the head, knocking the guy out cold. As the other guy wanted to get up, Andre kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

Richie watched in horror as his two guards were knocked down in a couple of seconds. He reached for his gun, but as he pointed it towards the enforcer, Beck was already there. He took the gun out of Richies shaking hand before slapping him so hard that he busted his lip and made him spit blood. Richie raised his hand towards his busted lip, watching at the blood left on his hand in disbelief. But before he could say anything, Beck gripped him by the throat.

"Listen to me. What you just tried to do will cost you. You will forget Carlo's debt and you will leave him, the club and us alone before Andre and I come back here and make you taste your own balls!" Beck said, keeping a firm grip around Richies throat who struggled for air. "You got that?" Beck asked. Richie quickly nodded as fast as possible.

"Look at this, Beck. He pissed himself. What a bitch." Andre said as he took their money from the table. Beck let go off him, laughing at the view in front of him as he put the gun he took from Richie in his pocket.

"Believe me, you are not a wiseguy. And you haven't seen what a wiseguy really can do. This, this is nothing compared to what I used to pull. Believe me that." Beck said as he turned around and walked towards the door that Andre opened.

"Well, looks like we'll get the club for free." Andre said with a smirk.

"He was asking for it. Had he taken the money, things would have been fine." Beck said.

"True. But now we won't have to invest any more. We can take this and use it to repair the place. That's something." Andre said as he tapped on the suitcase.

"Excuse me?" They heard someone behind them say. They turned around to see a young man, maybe eighteen years old, standing behind them. He was wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt, and had something familiar about him both Andre and Beck saw, but couldn't put their finger on exactly what.

"Yeah?" Andre asked.

"Are you two maybe… Beck Oliver and Andre Harris?" The kid asked. Beck's and Andre's eyes grew wide at that question. Andre was ready to fight while Beck grabbed for the gun.

"Who the fuck are you and how do you know who we are?" Beck asked, knowing that there was no point in trying to lie. They better find out themselves who the guy is. The young man raised his arms in defense.

"Don't shoot. I… My name is Victor. And… I've been looking for you guys." Victor said.

"Why? What do you want?" Andre asked.

"I need your help. You knew my father. You were very close." Victor said.

"What?" Both said, looking at him before realizing what he meant, and why he seemed so familiar.

"Word on the street says that my father had gone around a lot with women back home in LA, and one of those times, he wasn't careful." Victor explained.

"So you are..:" Andre began.

"Yes. I'm Robert Shapiro's son. And I need your help."


	3. Remembering an old friend

_Andre and I were left speechless that moment. I couldn't believe what the kid was telling me. I didn't believe him, not a word, but then there was something I couldn't deny about him and that was his resemblance to his old man. The same posture, the same facial features, the same behavior that I can't claim not to have been around for so long. So Andre and I took him to our new club. I went first while I knew Andre kept an eye on him the whole time, just in case he was a wiseguy looking to make a name by whacking us. However, had that been his goal, he could have just shot us as soon as we walked out of Purtaro's house. _

Beck, Andre and Victor walked into the club before Andre closed and locked the door behind them. Beck motioned for Victor not to move.

"Against the wall, kid." Andre said. Victor let out a sigh as he leaned on the wall with his hands as Andre searched him for weapons.

"He's clean." Andre said a few moments later.

"I told the truth, guys." Victor said as he moved back from the wall.

"That's what I want to find out." Beck said as he walked towards the bar and sat down.

"Come on, talk to us." Andre said as he patted Victor on the back and walked behind the bar. Victor sat down on the bar chair next to Beck while Andre took some glasses and put them down on the bar before filling them with whiskey.

"You do understand that your story is hard to believe?" Beck asked him as he downed his drink.

"I do, I do… But it's the truth." Victor said before finishing his drink. "My mom is Joannie Kelp. I don't think you guys remember her." Victor said.

"Actually I do. Rob and she had something going for a while. She worked as a waitress in one of the bars." Andre explained.

"Yeah, she worked in Roy's bar back then. What were we, seventeen then?" Beck agreed, remembering her.

"Yes, that's her. I guess what Rob didn't tell you is how he knocked her up one night. He got really drunk and took her home. I think it was when you took over your first racket." Victor said.

"Holy shit, yes. That was when I saw her. You and Adam left early that evening and Rob and I stayed with the ladies." Andre said.

"The night Adam met Cat." Beck said, pointing at his glass, which Andre immediately filled.

"Mom found out that she was pregnant a few weeks later. He didn't take it well. Stopped seeing her and got her fired from the bar." Victor said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that." Beck said.

"He never told you any of that?" Victor asked.

"No. He switched girls so often that none of us had ever even bothered asking. You would have needed a book to keep track of them all." Andre said.

"Well, he did come round a few months later. My mom told me he would send her some money every month, but I believe it was to make her shut up and keep her away from him. At one point he stopped sending money. She tried to call him, but to no avail. Two weeks later, she found out that he was killed. They found him buried in a hole on one of the farms north from LA." Victor explained.

"What do you know about that?" Beck asked.

"I know that it was you who whacked him. It's well known in LA that he was killed by his own crew for fucking up and wanting to rat out everyone to the feds." Victor said.

"Yes, you are correct." Andre said. "If you speak the truth, if you really are his son, how do we know that you are not here for your personal vendetta?" Andre asked.

Victor let out a loud laugh at that question, looking at both Andre and Beck before he looked back down and shook his head.

"I don't give a shit about him. He left my mom and me when we needed him the most so he could continue his fucking spree. As far as I'm concerned, he deserved what happened to him. A coward and a rat. What a great combination." Victor said in spite.

"Yes, he was all that. But he also was a great friend and capable man who made his mistakes in life. You didn't know him, and you have no idea what he went through in his short life." Beck said in defense of his friend.

"Fuck that. As if he is the only one who went through shit in his life." Victor said.

"This is going nowhere. Alright, you are Rob's kid. What do you need?" Andre asked. Victor let out a long sigh before answering Andre's question.

"I'm part of a crew myself. An associate of the leading family that now runs LA." Victor said.

"Bring me up to date on that." Beck said.

"Jackie Falcine is the boss of LA and his family is running eighty percent of it. They took over a few years after you guys left. A lot of kids like me wanted to join them because of the stories we heard about your old crew and what shit you pulled back then." Victor explained.

"They still talk about us?" Andre asked.

"Are you kidding me? You guys are fucking legends back home. Beck, Andre, Rob and Adam, Roy's little crew that firmly held LA like a nice tit." Victor said, earning a chuckle from both men. "Long story short, I got into trouble with one of his capos, Ralph."

"What happened?" Beck asked.

"I love gambling and he is one of the guys who holds poker games and other stuff. I was in one of those poker games he loves to hold. Just those Saturday night games in his place he does all the time. And one game, when it looked so good for me, I mean really good…"

"You got hustled and now owe him money." Beck finished.

"Gambling, huh? You really are Robbie's kid." Andre said while Beck chuckled at the comment.

"How much do you owe him?"

"A hundred." Victor admitted.

"A hundred grand?" Andre said. "They fucked you over real good."

"You can say that. Now he either wants his money or my head. And I don't have the money." Victor said.

"A hundred grand is a lot of money, kid." Andre said.

"I know."

"And what do you expect us to do about it?" Beck asked.

"I have no idea. Look, I came here because Ralph sent his dogs after me and I needed to get my head out of the sling I tied myself."

"How long have you been here?" Beck asked.

"Two months."

"And you had no idea that we are here?" Andre asked.

"No. I was sitting in a bar behind Purtaro's place, trying to figure a way out of my predicament when I heard that cocksucker run his mouth. Then I heard your names. I heard what happened, how you handled it and told myself that it must be you guys. I knew that you were alive and just settled somewhere else after Adam went crazy and killed Roy, Theodore and Dominique. And now I'm here." Victor explained.

"Well, what do you expect us to do, kid? I don't have a hundred grand in my pocket I can give you. Andre and I bought up this place because we need income ourselves." Beck said.

"So you can't help me." Victor said with a sigh.

"Sorry kid, that's too much money." Andre said.

"Alright. Sorry for wasting your time." Victor said as he got up and began walking towards the door. Andre and Beck looked at each other for a moment. They knew they thought the same thing.

"Wait." Beck said.

"What?" Victor asked.

"I can come to LA and talk to Ralph. Maybe I can talk him into a deal." Beck said. Victor turned around, not believing what Beck just offered him.

"I'll go with you. You can't go into one of those meetings by yourself." Andre said, at which Beck nodded in agreement.

"We'll go there, talk to him, and cut a deal, whatever. My guess is we'll have to do some jobs for him as compensation." Beck said.

"Thank you guys." Victor said.

"Hey, you are back. Did you talk to Richie?" Carlo asked as he walked down the stairs.

"Yes, we did. He won't bother you anymore. Now, take this money and fix this place up." Andre said as he handed Carlo the money.  
"Alright. Thank you guys."

"Carlo, we'll have some business to do for a few days, so take care of everything while we are gone." Beck said as he, Andre and Victor walked out of the club.

_Go back to LA. I'd rather stick my arm into burning oil, but what can I do? Rob's kid needs my help and after what Rob did to him and his mother and what we did to his father, I had to help him. I owe that much to Robbie for everything he had done for me. And I knew that Andre thought that as well. Despite what Robbie did in his final days, he still was one of us. He was like a brother to us and that makes Victor family too. I told him that he could stay at my place for tonight and that we would leave for LA in a day or two. _

_But before we leave, Andre and I knew that there was something else we had to do. Something that none of us wanted to do, but we knew we had to do. We had to tell our wives. And after everything that happened, we both knew that they would give us hell for wanting to go back to LA. And we were right. Jade and I have been arguing for hours now, and while the anger radiates out of her, the tears that flow down her face tell what her true concern is. _

"Jade, it's Robbie's kid. What the fuck should I do? Let him get killed back there?" Beck asked, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"And how are you helping by getting killed yourself?" Jade yelled.

"I won't get killed. Nobody knows what happened that day at your house. They all believe that Adam went nuts and killed them. They think we skipped because we couldn't deal with all that. Adam's plan worked." Beck said.

"Oh really? How the fuck do you know that he's Robbie's son? Maybe it's just a trick to get you back to LA so they can collect your head." Jade said.

"You saw him. Add the curls and the glasses and he is a spitting image of Robbie. Also, what he told us is true. Andre remembers the girl that Robbie knocked up. Everything he said adds up." Beck said. "Jade, I know you are scared, but I can't let him get killed. He's still a kid and after what Robbie did to them and what in hindsight we did to them, we owe him that help. We shot his father, Jade. After shooting my best friend, should I just stand back and let his son get killed too?" Beck asked.

Jade didn't answer immediately. She only looked at Beck, tears freely running down her cheeks while fear consumed her. She didn't want him to go back to LA. She didn't want anything to happen to him.

"Promise me that you will come back. Promise me that nothing will happen to you." Jade said.

"I promise." Beck told her. She walked towards him and hugged him around the chest while he hugged her back.

"I know you just want to help, but I'm scared." Jade said.

"I know, I know… But nothing will happen to us.

An hour later Jade finally calmed down and went to bed. Beck walked downstairs and outside where Victor was sitting on one of the chairs.

"We are leaving for LA tomorrow." Beck said as he sat down on one of the chairs himself.

"Thank you for helping me." Victor said.

"Don't thank me yet. We got a lot of work to do." Beck said. Right now he only wondered if Andre had it any easier with Tori.


	4. Cursed paradise

Jade woke up the next morning, her eyes still itching from all the crying. As she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, she noticed that Beck was already gone. He must have left for LA very early that morning. She got into her bathroom and looked at her image in the mirror. She was a mess. Her eyes were red, her make up she forgot to take off the day before was ruined completely and her tears had created stains that ran down her cheeks. She splashed some cold water onto her face to wake herself up, shivering from the sudden sensation. She removed her makeup and tied her long, dark hair in a lazy ponytail. She felt like crap and was worried as hell about Beck already.

She knew that her kids were at school already, another family doing the driving this week. Lilly would always pick them up for school and from school, so she knew that the kids were fine. But she wasn't. Sixteen years after she had shot her own father and finally escaped the life she never wanted, it seemed to come back and haunt her family again. For all she knew, Beck and Andre could get killed there the moment they step foot in LA and Victor, who claims to be Robbie's son, could just be some dumb kid who tricked them in order to make a name for himself. A thousand ideas ran through her mind, but two stuck with her.

The first idea was how the guys are willing to still risk their own lives in order to help a kid they saw as their nephew, considering how close they were to Robbie. Despite what they did, she knew that the guys cared about him and would not have done that had it not been absolutely necessary. Also, what she overheard one time while Beck and Andre were talking about him, it was the most they could do for him. Had anyone else done the hit, god knows what they would have done to Robbie before finishing him off. Traitors were treated in a certain way, she knew that, and she understood that Robbie would have probably been tortured before killed. Beck and Andre now hope to pay him back with helping his kid. If they couldn't help Robbie, they are going to do everything to save the only thing left of his name and legacy.

The second one hit her in the chest like a hammer. If something happens to them, Adam's sacrifice would have been for nothing. He knew that he would not leave Roy's office when he sent them away, and he was right. He bled to death for them, in hopes of ridding them from this curse. And now, they might bring everything back onto them. Jade didn't know how Cat would react to this herself. She was a smart woman who went through hell on more than one occasion. Jade blamed herself more than once for the situation Cat was now in. It was her who shot Roy, and Adam took the blame. It was her reaction that made Cat a widow and a single mother raising a child who didn't even know what her father had done for them. Cat never spoke about Adam in front of them, time only making the wounds hurt more. She used to tell Lilly stories about her dad and what he and her uncles used to do, naturally leaving out the violent parts and the cursing, but stopped after a while. Jade saw her more than once walk out of the house whenever someone mentioned Adam by accident or Lilly said something about him. She saw her walk to the beach and stare at the ocean while she was crying her eyes out. And now, Beck and Andre could take away the last thing that keeps Cat sane, and that is the idea that Adam's sacrifice had a purpose.

Jade got out of the house and walked towards Tori's place. She knew that Tori felt at least as bad as her, if not worse. A few minutes later, she walked into her cousin's house and closed the door behind herself. They never bothered locking the doors, anyway, since there wasn't anyone else with them on their own small paradise.

"Tori?" Jade called, looking around the hallway and glancing into the living room.

"Outside!" Jade heard Tori yell back. Jade made her way towards the slide door and opened it. She stepped outside and looked around. Tori was sitting in one of the chairs, staring at the waves with an emotionless expression. Jade knew that expression very well. She had seen it so many times in her life that she could recognize it from a million others.

"Andre and I had a big fight last night." Tori said as Jade sat down on the chair next to her.

"Just like Beck and I had." Jade said. "Argued for hours. In the end, they both left. I just hope they will come back alive and well."

"They will. I'm not worried about that. If Andre and Beck know anything, it's how to survive. They've shown that more than once." Tori said.

"I hope you are right. But if you are not worried about that, why do you have your 'I knew this would happen' face?" Jade asked.

"Because they are back in LA. And once they get back there, once they breathe in that familiar air and see the streets they owned, they will want it all back." Tori said.

"After what happened there? Why would they want to go back? To all the stress; all the trouble…"

"And all the fun they had with it. Face it, Jade. Life here has become really boring and monotonous." Tori said. Jade didn't know how to respond to that. It's something she hadn't thought about. It's something she never wanted to think about. "Back in LA, no day was the same as the other. Every day something happened. It was always something new that we could talk about; something new we could think about. And then we met the guys. You met Beck, I med Andre, and we met Rob and Adam again. We met Cat, heard their stories, got to know them. Remember how it used to be Trina, you and me against the world?" Tori asked.

"I remember. Then Trina found new people to hang out with. She left us handle our own issues by ourselves." Jade said.

"And then, for all those fucking years, it was you and me against the world. Fathers who were way too absorbed into their work to give a fuck about us, your mom, my mom, everything. But then we met them. And things became good again. Sure, there were the ups and downs, but that's just how life is. We were all happy, Cat and Adam were engaged and planning their marriage and we were enjoying every minute we spent with our boyfriends and the others. But now… It's all the same. Every fucking day is the same. Get up, take the kids to school, have a coffee, eat, meet with you guys and talk about things that happened in the past because nothing is happening now. And it's been like that for a couple of years." Tori explained. "You know that I love you guys, but how long are we going to keep up the 'remember when' conversations we keep having all the time? Well, those are the lowest form of conversations you can have."

"I didn't know that you felt that way." Jade said in a sadder tone. Tori let out a sigh as she looked at her.

"And you feel different?" Tori asked. She didn't get an immediate answer. Jade was absorbing everything she had just heard. And no matter how much she fought it; how much she tried to suppress it, it was the truth. Life in paradise was dull.

"I've been thinking about moving back to LA." Tori said, finally getting Jade's attention back. "Andre told me that nobody was ever even looking for us. Adam's plan worked perfectly. Everyone believes that he snapped after having to kill his own friend."

"It's funny. I remember how Adam would always talk about one day leaving LA and enjoying a nice, quiet, peaceful life somewhere near the ocean with Cat. Now, we got what he always wanted, and we aren't happy with it." Jade said, shaking her head in disbelief. "If we went back, wouldn't it make his sacrifice unnecessary? Wouldn't his death be for nothing?" Jade asked. "And more importantly, what would Cat say to that idea?"

Tori stiffened at the last question. Cat had no idea about Beck and Andre going back to LA, and despite knowing her for so long, Tori didn't know how Cat is going to react.

"What Adam did for us was save our lives, Jade. He took the blame and took it with him to the grave. Had he not done that, you and Beck and all of us would have been hunted down." Tori said.

"And that is my point, Tori. He did it so we could get away from LA. He did it so we could get out of that lifestyle that was going to be the end of us. And now, because of boredom, we might return to it? How ungrateful would that be?" Jade asked. Tori stayed silent this time. She didn't know how to answer her cousin.

At the same time, not too far away, Cat was going through a routine of her own. She felt drained, tired and sick of the same problem happening again and again.

"Why didn't you go to school today?" Cat asked, looking at her daughter. The seventeen year old was lying on her bed, rolling her eyes on her mother calling her out.

"I don't feel well." Lilly said, turning around in her bed, giving her mother the cold shoulder.

"Alright, what is it? Are you sick?" Cat asked, her patience growing thin.

"Yes." Lilly said in an annoyed tone. She definitely wasn't in the mood to argue with her mother again.

"Alright. I'll take you to the doctor then." Cat said. Lilly let out a loud groan in response.

"Do you have to be so annoying? Alright, I'm not sick. I didn't feel like going to school today and I took the day off. There. You happy now?" Lilly asked, finally turning around to face her mother.

"Lilly, it is important that you go to school and don't begin a habit with skipping it." Cat said in a gentle tone. She had been trying to figure out a way to deal with her daughter's attitude, which has only gotten worse with time.

"Why? You dropped out of school yourself, found a guy who took care of you. He even left you some cash before he disappeared." Lilly said.

"I didn't have a choice with school, and your father didn't just disappear."

"Oh please. How stupid do you think I am, Cat?" Lilly asked as she got out of bed and walked towards her mother. She looked down on the shorter redhead. "Nobody dares to speak about him, there are no pictures of him, no letters, nothing. Fuck, as far as I know someone could have knocked you up one day and left you dry. Good, you are lucky that Beck and Andre always help you out." Lilly said.

"You know that it's not true." Cat said, her voice near breaking at her daughter's words. The fact that she heard such accusations so often didn't make it any less painful. But to her, the truth was even more painful.

"Then what is the truth? Where is my father?" Lilly asked.

Cat didn't answer. She closed her eyes in hopes of not breaking down in front of Lilly. She wanted to tell her what happened. She wanted to tell her what Adam had done for her. But she couldn't. The moment she thought of him, her voice was gone, and the only thing she could think of is how much she missed him. She could only feel the pain, coming from the void he had left in her with his death.

"That's what I thought." Lilly said, letting out a small sigh. "When you are ready to admit that I'm right, I'll be here. But I don't appreciate being lied to my whole life and then called out for some unimportant bullshit." Lilly said before she walked to her door and opened it, motioning to her mother to leave her room.

Cat did so without saying anything more. Memories flooded her mind, grief and pain overtaking her and preventing anything to escape her mouth but the sobs she is holding back. She walked into her room and locked the door before she leaned on it and slid down. She finally let her emotions overtake her again, Cat had cried because of him for all this years, and she was sure she would do so for many more. Talking about him was something she could not do. She tried to let go. She tried to speak about him, but it always had the same result. She even tried to be angry with him. She tried to hate him for leaving her. For lying to her. But she couldn't. She also didn't want Lilly to know what her father was. How could she explain that her father was both a mob enforcer who stole, beat and murdered, but at the same time was caring and warm? How could she explain to her daughter that she spent a part of her life on the streets as a prostitute? So she decided not to even try. The less Lilly knew, the better for her. But now, she wished that she didn't have any explaining to do. Right now, she only wished that Adam was with her.


End file.
